Shooting victim now turned suspect

Shooting victim now turned suspect

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Utah) - He was beaten, shot and left dying on the street. But now the victim has fled after police issued a warrant for his arrest.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Utah) – A man once considered a shooting victim is now wanted by police.

Authorities issued an attempt to locate bulletin against 40-year old Chervon Laptiste. He’s accused of multiple counts of raping a 12 year old girl.

“A crime against children is something we take extra precautions in and we need to get those types of people off of the streets,” says Rick Wall of the Salt Lake City police department.

Last month, Laptiste was beaten and shot in a Salt Lake City neighborhood.

Anthony Vick was arrested for shooting Laptiste. Two other women were also arrested.But court documents show that one of those women arrested was the child's mother. Police won't say if the shooting was in retaliation for the alleged rape of the child.

“That's a total separate incident so we're not going to talk about that during this,” says Wall.

Laptiste was hospitalized after the shooting and police have no idea where he is now. He’s an African-American, about six foot two and 260 pounds

“Anytime someone rises to the level of this degree it certainly raises our awareness level and it’s very important we find that individual just to keep the public safe,” says Wall.

Meanwhile, Vick and the two women are facing charges for the beating and shooting. The trio remain jailed.

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